This week was a lot more material based, and we learned about the foundational principles of  corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. The homework allowed us to take what we learned in the book and videos and see how they transferred to real company policies. My Dow 30 company was Verizon, and I enjoyed learning about their corporate governance mechanisms. Something I found interesting when researching companies was the varying emphasis that companies place on having directors be personally, financially invested in the company (as shareholders). Additionally, the movie we watched in class contributed to my knowledge of corporate social responsibility because it displayed the true efforts that companies make towards social change. Pfizer is a company committed to improving population health, however, their social responsibility reaches beyond their direct consumers. Senior directors made an effort to improve the community in which the office is located, which shifted my perspective on how corporations interact with more than just their consumers. 

The internship seminar has been a major outlet for reflection. Coming to Milan has been a culture shock, but through the seminar I am able to better understand the people and place that I am in, making me feel more at home. This week we talked about cultural differences in terms of workplace values and social norms. The first was similar to our personal cultural identity because we explored the way that workplaces differ in the US vs. Italy. Additionally, the topic of cultural differences in nationalism was very intriguing. In Italy, people feel more connected to their metropolitan cities (province) within their state, for example, Bergamo is a province within Lombardy. This inclination shines light on the strong sense of community in Italy. Another cultural difference is the connection that people feel towards politics and politicians. Italy is made up of many smaller parties that work in bigger coalitions. This diversity means that people do not feel as impacted by the politicians in power. On the other hand, the US is polarized by 2 main parties and their values are very different. When one party has control of the office, it affects a larger majority of the population. The last key cultural difference I learned this week is about higher education. School spirit is not prevalent in Italy because everyone who wants to attend college can and for a lower cost. Americans feel connected to their universities for financial, legacy, and networking reasons.  

The next step in my internship process is to review the data collected by the Metabolism of Cities from women in California and right across the border in Mexico. Last week I researched different types of data analysis, both descriptive and regression analysis. This week, I provided specific guidelines for which data analysis types would be appropriate for which survey questions. Seeing the progression of my work is very rewarding, and I am excited to take this next step. Domenico is very supportive of our personal interests, giving us certain guidelines but allowing us to fine tune our internship in a way that fulfills us. Additionally, our third Politecnico di Milano trip was to watch a seminar on “air pollution health impacts & implications for environmental justice.” Paola Crippa is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. For some reason, attending her seminar provided me with a sense of home and comfort because University of Notre Dame is a commonly talked about college where I am from. I really enjoy going to the Politecnico di Milano because I get to experience a 3rd perspective of Milanese / Italian culture.

This past weekend I traveled to Florence! I loved the architecture of the buildings, nothing was high rise and it was all cohesive, fitting the same aesthetic. There were piazza’s everywhere, filled with vendors selling goods like leather. It was fun to shop and see all the sites that are so commonly talked about. My favorite part of the trip was when we went to Piazzale Michelangelo and brought wine and snacks to watch the sunset. Seeing the city from above really puts its beauty in perspective. One funny story to share: when we were talking to our Airbnb host about restaurants, Jen asked if there was anything similar to the viral cheese wheel pasta osteria because reservations are required 4+ weeks in advance (which we did not do). Our Airbnb host was flatmates with the owner of the restaurant when she first moved to Florence in 1989, so she called him and got us a reservation for the very next day! Upon reflection, I drew a lot of differences between Milan and Florence. Milan is a less touristy city so it was definitely a shock to arrive in Florence, one of Italy’s most traveled cities. In Milan there is an unspoken dress code (kinda) where citizens expect you to be dressed fashionably but modestly; this was different in Florence (possibly because they’re so used to tourists) because they did not expect any specific dress. Lastly, I found the people in Florence a lot friendlier. They did not stare or judge openly, and made small talk more often.